The Secrets of Life on Earth

                                                                                         בס"ד
With response to my post The World is Upside-Down, we received the following good comments that I thought would provide a good learning experience. This is much to read but by putting the comments and my responses, I thought it to be of great help for my readers to understand how to live in this upside-down world.  These include some very important secrets, so make sure you tell everyone.

Ms. AP January 29, 2017 at 10:00 AM

Dear Rav Menachem,
I think that many would love nothing more than to "get on with the program" knowing that we have to keep adding to our Yiddishkeit and improve. Reality is, Hashem also put us in this world to work hard so we can pay our bills, help our children, help aging relatives and people in our community, etc.. As my Rabbi reminds us, it is not an easy thing to strike a balance between earning a living (both spouses need to work nowadays just to pay the bills) and developing as Jews -finding time to study, learn Torah, say all the prayers - when you have a full day. This is the way Hashem made the world. The test at the start of this post was interesting but for those of us who are not retired and have a pile of daily obligations from sun up to sun down, the thought of not watching the news, not being knowledgeable about current events (which includes sports and TV shows) can cost us promotions or even jobs. Our relationship with Hashem is between each of us and our creator and surely He sees how complex modern life has become. I think there is much merit in taking small steps to improve our relationship with our creator as long as we are honestly trying. Hashem has great compassion and mercy on his creation and, in particular, on Am Yisroel. I for one would love nothing more than to be semi-retired and have time to bake my own challah, attend all kinds of wonderful shiurs and Torah classes, etc.. However, until Moshiach arrives to usher in our Geula, we will have to work hard to make a living and do many other daily chores - often on 6 or 7 hours sleep every night instead of the ideal 8. Gratitude is everything so thank you Hashem for opening Your hand and feeding all your creatures at the right time, every day. Ms. AP

The Absolute Truth January 29, 2017 at 11:29 AM

You are describing the upside-down fantasy world that I posted. My entire thought is that when you turn to Hashem for every little detail with full emunah, you leave the fantasy world and start living the world of Hashem.

I can write books on all that has happened to me, my family and many of my friends. We are all people who have bills, commitments, problems, etc. But, I can tell you how all my problems are solved with Hashem.

As an example: I have about twenty stories of times that we needed a large sum of money for weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, Brit Milahs, home purchases, furniture purchases, car purchases, etc, etc, etc. In every case I asked Hashem for help and miraculously, a stock that I had went up tremendously or the inheritance of relatives who had passed away came in or I got a new job with a higher pay and a bonus from leaving my old job or etc, etc, etc. There are no coincidences and the fact that the timing was so exact with every situation, I know exactly Who the Source was that helped. I know we are not supposed to rely on miracles, but when you turn to Hashem for everything, they happen.

When my wife and I decided to make Aliyah, we retired ahead of our retirement ages (I was only 58, and my wife I can't tell you). We happen to have two homes that we made a lot of money with and had the cash to retire and move years ahead of collecting retirement pays. Both homes miraculously came from Hashem (long story) and it was so obvious to us that Hashem arranged our early retirement -- every detail.

When we came to Israel, the Aliyah authority was so impressed with our backgrounds (me being an Engineer, a US Army officer, lots of government experience, etc and my wife who also had a very productive background). They told us that we will have no problem finding very good work here. When I told them that we were retired and only wanted to study Torah and do Kiruv, they had such a look of disappointment, but Hashem arranged it and made sure we were well taken care of in every way.

I could bore you with hours of stories about how I had orders twice to go off to war and how something just happened to come up and curtail my deployment, or the time I was scheduled to fly with a friend for a weekend visit to his home and something came up and curtailed my trip. The plane crashed and the six guys that I was scheduled to go with were killed.

I mentioned that recently I had a medical problem. It was a very painful hernia that kept me immobile. The surgeon that I saw definitely said I needed surgery. During the appointments that I had in preparation for the surgery, I prayed extensively to Hashem asking for help. Within weeks, my hernia miraculously healed itself. If you Google hernia, they do not heal by themselves (unless you turn to Hashem). I used to have headaches, back problems, a heart condition, acid reflux, knee problems and more. They are all gone due to the most wonderful medical program in the world: "turning to Hashem for help."

I work very diligently every day to leave this upside-down fantasy world and live in Hashem's world of reality and absolute truth. It works beyond your wildest imagination; join me and your comment above will completely change. (Someday when we meet, I will tell you the stories that defy our Laws of Physics; you can't make this stuff up).

Rachel January 29, 2017 at 3:14 PM

How do you DO that exactly? Leave the "fantasy world," I mean, especially when family around you is entrenched in it? I pray constantly for help from Hashem, I think I am talking to Him 90% of my wakeful hours and even in my dreams, but so far I am still "stuck." Yes I see hashgacha pratis of course, but on a much smaller scale than you describe.

The Absolute Truth January 29, 2017 at 6:58 PM

My family is also living the real world. They do not have television and are not even allowed on the computer except the adults for work.

I do not believe that Hashem is everything; I KNOW IT BEYOND A SHADOW OF A DOUBT!!!!! If something in my life doesn't happen exactly the way I may have wanted, I know it is because Hashem knew better. In the end, everything turns out for the best, even if we do not see it right away.

Rachel January 29, 2017 at 7:46 PM

Yes, I know that too. Maybe I should rephrase, because I think there are others including Ms AP who have this question. We are told by the Rabbeim not to rely on miracles. We have to do our hishtadlus. At what point does hishtadlus cross over into living in this fantasy world? It feels like it's very fine line.

The Absolute Truth January 29, 2017 at 8:04 PM

Our hishtadlus is doing Teshuvah, doing Tefillah, studying Torah, Tzedukah, helping others and doing the commandments. I already said that we don't count on miracles, but when you do the hishtadlus I just mentioned, they happen all the time.

We are even told in the Talmud that the non-Jews were created to build everything, houses, roads, cars, etc, etc, etc. The Jews are meant to be a light unto the nations. To study the word of Hashem and spread it throughout the world. In turn, Hashem takes care of all our needs.

The problem is that we assimilate and get involved in the non-Jew's work, because we are convinced that we have to live the upside-down fantasy world as well. When we do exactly what Hashem wants from us, we lack nothing and gain it all for ourselves and our loved ones for all eternity.

I know it is very difficult to believe what I am saying, but until one is completely immersed in a Torah observant life, 100%, it is not understood, and that includes living in Israel with only Jews.

Rachel January 29, 2017 at 8:24 PM

I would love to. But I can't pick up and abandon my family to start a new life 100% immersed. When immediate family thinks hishtadlus means making sure you can earn a living before you leap into Israel, there is not much one can say or do. Many people we know tried to make Aliyah and ended up coming back. Bottom line is I need that miracle to turn my family around. They don't want to hear it anymore. And they know Moshiach is coming (the immediate family does, anyway, while extended family lives in la-la-land), but they believe that at this late stage of the game, Moshiach will have to get us there. Please daven for us that this happens. It is my constant wish, and I say it to Hashem at least once every minute.

The Absolute Truth January 30, 2017 at 10:18 AM

I apologize that I did not make something clear. I was in the work force for close to 50 years (I started working at 9 years old and retired at 58), every job that I had, Hashem arranged for me. I was very surprised when I got jobs beating out competition that were much more qualified than me.

I went to college full and part time for 16 years. Hashem made sure that I got into universities that I didn't think I had the qualifications to achieve.

I got tremendous assignments in the Army and was never separated from my family for more the three weeks (only once). When I was removed from the Army due to budget cutbacks, I got a job on the same program as an Engineer at more pay and less responsibility. Since I still had my officer commission, I went on to a retirement as a reserve officer with an even higher retirement pay. Hashem arranged it all and kept me out of the Gulf War, since I had been separated from the active Army at the right time.

I just happen to meet certain people who got me involved with certain investments that paid off at the exact time that I needed the money. My bills have always been paid on time thanks to Hashem.

This goes on and on with many more boring stories, but my point is HASHEM ARRANGED IT ALL. The only thing that I had to do was to trust Him that all would go as we needed (me and family). I learned very early in life that there is no such thing as coincidence, chance, luck, accident, etc. All was according to the script that Hashem wrote for my life. All we had to do was live it, and enjoy it.

I am nothing, with no talent and with no capability. Everything that we have and every success that we enjoyed was Hashem's plan that He designed for us. Yes, my wife, our children, our grandchildren all experienced that same success once they discovered the need to trust Hashem.

Everyone on this Earth has a destined plan. When one turns to Hashem the plan measure for measure is wonderful and totally satisfying for a good life; living the world of truth. When people believe that I have to do it for myself with their own ability (the me, me, me attitude), and it is not Hashem that is doing it, chas v'shalom, then measure for measure that leads to failure in life (living in the upside-down fantasy world).

Since Hashem makes this world look totally random, He gives the evil ones all their reward in this world and socks it to them for eternity. We cannot look at others and know what they did correctly or incorrectly. But when we follow Hashem, and trust Him for everything in life, it becomes extremely obvious what He is doing for each of us as individuals. Even if we have problems in life that we would like not to have, we can still understand why we had the problem, and how Hashem is giving us Tikun through the problems. Everything is for the good, even our problems.

As I said before I have hours of boring stories that you would say: "that's impossible." Yet, that was my life and the goodness it entailed. How do I know that I am not getting all my reward now? I have studied Torah and learned the system that Hashem gave us. There is no doubt about what I did wrong, and what I did right in Hashem's eyes; and there is also no doubt that measure for measure Hashem takes tremendous care of me and my family.

It doesn't mean that I didn't work hard all my life, what you may call hishtadlus. It just means that my hard work was always with Hashem in mind, knowing that my true hishtadlus was turning to Him and relying on Him. With the Teshuvah, Tefillah, studying Torah, Tzedukah, helping others and doing the commandments, all the rest fell in place. Thank you Hashem.